Cultural Event #3: Celebration of Storer College

On Monday, February 25th; I attended A Celebration of Storer College. It featured a documentary film by Midge Flinn Yost titled Storer College: A Legacy of Light and Learning. A discussion was also led by Dr. Dawne Raines Burke. I learned a lot about Storer College which was set i Harpers Ferry, WV from 1867 until it closed in 1955. The college's legacy remains and represents a movement as it educated newly freed slaves.

The film featured lessons about how education was important to the blacks as this school was the only one around that they could attend back then. In 1867, John Storer offered $10,000 to fund the school. Education proved intelligence for blacks and that blacks could learn and truly wanted to. Storer was an important place to the race as if it hadn't existed; segregation might still exist today. The film featured lessons of self determination and how it helps us realize our greatest humanity as existing beings. One of Anne Dudley's students wrote a poem that glorified the free black legacy. A memorable quote from the film was her quote itself. As the student noted "Before I'll be a slave, I'll be carried off to my grave."

Me and Midge Flinn Yost, the filmmaker.

Many of the teachers experienced cruelty as well as they were referred to as "negro teachers." The local newspapers even included derogatory articles about the teachers of Storer College. Storer started with two locations: one in Bluefield, WV and the other in Charlestown, WV. In 1921, the college was granted Junior College status and was granted another two years in 1934. Many blacks aspired for positive goals for a career that would be productive. Families gave up much more to go to Storer as they struggled immensely. Retired teachers from Ivy League schools helped out at Storer. The diverse, intense spiritual training  took place as Chapel services were held every Sunday morning for blacks to engage. Their gymnasium was even a barn, but they enjoyed it very much.

At the time, blacks couldn't protest because they had no support. One interviewee mentioned that it would've been like committing suicide because they were not welcome. Storer alumni continue to have reunions every August as it is meaningful not only to their heritage, but to themselves as graduates. It gives them a sense of personal empowerment as the campus is still open to visitors year round in Harper's Ferry.

Following the film I was privileged enough to meet the film maker, Midge Flinn Yost as well as many spunky and fun loving alumni that actually went to Storer. I recall one of the spunky women who went there stood up and mentioned how depressing the video made it look compared to how much fun she used to have. I didn't get her name, but I'll always remember her sweet smile and her funny sayings. She mentioned how they used to go up on hills and drink wine on weeknights. Overall, the event was a great way to engage with the community as well as fellow Shepherd students.

Finalizing Capstone

After several laborious weeks of bringing this documentary film together, I have finally come to a point where the project has finally come to a stopping point. I will definitely need to spend some more time working with the audio levels as there are several issues that have arised. I will therefore spend the remainder pof this semester working it to a point where it can be the best cut possible. This past week, I had a lot of trouble editing as I had lost many transitions and edits due to a computer crashing in the lab.  Over 12 hours of my footage were lost which demanded me to go through and piece together every clip all over again.



This week, I will be presenting what I have to the faculty of the Communication Department. I feel that I know what I will be critiqued on as I have mentioned the audio does have some issues. I may also need to add a bit more voice over to keep the piece more interesting and understandable. I have started brainstorming ideas for my poster board, but I am not quite sure exactly which design I am going to go with. Overall, I feel very proud of what I have accomplished so far with this project. I feel like I have it to a point where I can say I have the shots I like. My biggest fear for this project is that it might be considered too boring or maybe uninteresting for some people as it is a very specific subject matter. I still hope to bring out various audiences other than just history buffs because I feel that what I have to say in this film is important when it comes to cultural communication theory.

I'm looking forward to hearing a variety of critiques on the cut that I have produced. This week will be a lot of tweaking edits and finishing up finalized copies of my script, outline, etc. I hope that this project is something that the faculty will find interesting and that they are proud that I went out and took a risk on something I haven't really seen done.